Alcoa to curtail production in Brazil, close a line in U.S

(Reuters) - Alcoa Inc (AA.N) said on Wednesday it is temporarily cutting production at its aluminum smelters in Brazil, and will permanently shut down part of its operations in Massena, New York.

The changes, which should be complete by the end of September, are part of a review announced in May amid a tough market for aluminum.

Alcoa said it is temporarily stopping production at smelters in Brazil that have annual capacity of about 124,000 tonnes, and will permanently close a 40,000 tonne potline at its Massena East plant. Massena East's current capacity is about 125,000 tonnes per year.

The company expects to take between $5 million and $10 million in after-tax restructuring charges in the third quarter, or about 1 cent a share, of which about half will be non-cash.

Alcoa said in May that it would review 460,000 tonnes, or about 11 percent, of its smelting capacity. In May it announced closures at its Baie-Comeau smelter in Quebec, and said it would delay the construction of a new potline there.

After the latest closures and curtailments, about 16 percent of its capacity will be sitting idle.